Any Elsewhere But There

Elsewhere volume 1 (collecting the first 4 issues) starts with Cort and Tavel escaping from prison, only to stumble across a woman dangling from a parachute in a tree. A woman who calls herself Amelia Earhart. A name that means nothing to them, because this is Korvath, not Earth. Amelia just wants to find her navigator, Fred Noonan, but everyone's a little busy trying to rebel against Lord Kragen at the moment.

The basic set-up reminds me a lot of Lost Planet, a 6-issue mini-series Bo Hampton published through Eclipse back in the late '80s. Both stories even include DB Cooper, who doesn't look like Adam West at all. Newsradio lied to me! Jay Faerber makes Earhart the central character here, while Hampton created a treasure hunter character to be the protagonist.

The plot really zips along for just four issues. Earhart meets Cort and Tavel, gets herself captured to try and rescue Fred, but finds Cooper instead. They escape, join the resistance Cort and Tavel are part of, escape flesh-eating insects that don't seem native and find evidence other people from Earth have visited. They attack Kragen's fortress, seemingly defeat him, and Amelia learns what happened to Fred. The pace works against the big reveal in issue 4, because Faerber hasn't had enough time to establish the emotional connection to make us care. He does succeed in making Kragen's motivations make sense. They aren't deep, but suitably petty for a tyrant. (I'm being vague to try and avoid spoilers.)

Most of the cast don't get much more than bare bones characterization. Cort is more noble and heroic. The one who interrupts his escape from prison to investigate calls for help. Tavel is the friend who goes along with it, but grumbles the whole time. Man after my own heart. There's a guard who helps Amelia and DB escape that tries to pass herself off as just doing it for money, but it seems like there might be something deeper there with her. Hopefully we see her again.

Sumeyye Kesgin goes with the Star Trek approach to alien species. Same basic body type as Earthlings, but some head ornamentation. Cort's people are furry and have facial markings, Kragen's are green and have bull horns on the sides of their heads. Kragen's forces aren't the same as Cort and Tavel, though they seem to be native to the planet. Likewise, the buildings are a bit different in style, but still generally recognizable. It's more they're built into the natural terrain, than on it. There are these odd rocky spires, seemingly too narrow to be as tall as they are, and Kragen's fortress looks as though it was carved directly from one. The resistance live on natural ledges on trees in a forest. It's enough, combined with Ron Riley's colors, to give the landscape somewhat of an alien feel, but not so much you expect Amelia would spend all her time just gawking at stuff.

Kesgin goes weirder with the "steeds", large, vaguely gargoyle-looking animals. They're also empathic, and Amelia forms an almost immediate bond with one, surprising Cort and Tavel. Maybe it's the little tuft of fur at the tip of an otherwise smooth tail, but they seem like something you might see in a Dr. Seuss story, albeit with big, pointy teeth.

I should have the other four issues by the end of this week. I'm curious to see whether Amelia gets home, or how many other people, from Earth or wherever she happens across. Whether Cort learns what happened to the friend he's seeking.